Recommend me a pressure washer

[Tik-Tok]

Gas powered, $500 give or take. Used for general household duties.

There's so many out there. What's cheap junk, and what's not?

[blairtruck]

i got my karcher gas powered from Costco for 299 on sale a few years ago.
still going strong. wash truck all the time. and used it for a few hours straight ton the weekend to clean deck and fence and garage. . went thru about 3 different pos simonize electric models from crappy tire before i moved to something worth while.

[nobb]

Most engines will last a long time, it's the pumps that fail. Horizontally mounted pumps are more reliable then verticals, and look for brand name pumps like AR and Comet.

[The_Penguin]

Got a Karcher from Costco 2 years ago, love it.

[NoPulp]

Yeah the electric ones aren't even worth looking at, very frustrating.

I'm bias towards Honda powered ones since that what I use to service all the time. The pumps are usually what the issue is, however lots of it is because of misuse. Make sure to bleed the air whenever starting and ALWAYS have water going through it unless it has a bypass.

[Graham_A_M]

Dont waste your time with any electric unit. Their GPM and pressure are horrendous, I honestly wont even touch one any more, just crap. The higher end ones with sufficient PSI & flow are considerably more money then would be a gas equivalent. FWIW, Simoniz is just shit... avoid at all costs.

Just keep your eyes open for good Honda or Kohler powered gas units. I believe I saw a couple honda powered horizontal units at KMS when I was there a couple of days ago. They were $300-400, typical 2700-3k psi, 2gpm, that sort of thing. The brand that put them together was BE, a typical pressure washer manufacturing company.

Also, check out Last Chance trading company right off Center Ave & Memorial on Barlow. Their the wholesaler for units that were returned to Costco. Its not hard to find units that are practically new, for about 30% off or more then what Costco would sell them for. Typically idiots that buy these pressure washers try to put diesel in them (or whatever else), and cant for the life of them figure out why they wont start or run.... so they return them. The guys at Last Chance just service them, then sell them at that depot for drastically reduced prices.

Lots of great deals to be had there on decent units, otherwise sometimes Canadian tire has some decent prices on okay units.
Id recommend against buying anything with a Powerease engine though, those are shit-tastic engines.

Most often its the pump itself that is problematic. We have a 11hp Honda unit at the farm (4k psi & 3gpm) that I have to service when I get back there. I believe the unloading valve is stuck open on it.
Seldomly its ever the engine, unless its Powerease, then its a gamble really.

[idriveabox]

Graham, how hard is it to rebuild the pumps or is it even worth it? My BE Honda washer had the pump die, motor is fine. I think its worth investing in one with a better name brand pump (as mentioned)

[Maxt]

I bought a B&S from Canadian tire and its a total POS.

[NoPulp]

Depends on the pump and what is wrong with it. The rental store I worked for typically tried to rebuild them, but we would replace them completely somewhat frequently.

People really fuck up pressure washers. Not the best rental item IMO....

[carson blocks]

I've got a Princess Auto cheapy. Works better than any electric and I think it was $200 or less so if (ok, when) it fails it's not the end of the world. Plus PA has all the (cheap) replacement parts to keep the thing alive. If you're like most people and use it a couple times a year, even the cheap one will likely last for a very long time. If you use it every weekend for some reason, I'd step up and get a Honda.

[blairtruck]

just looked and my karcher from costco has a honda engine.

[Tik-Tok]

Originally posted by blairtruck
just looked and my karcher from costco has a honda engine.

GX or GC?

[MrSector9]

Most of the offshore pumps you cannot buy parts for, so once it fails you need a new pump, pumps run from $160-200 so it makes them pretty much disposable if a pump fails.

With the exception of someone not putting oil in it/filling tank with water and letting everything rust) I have never seen an engine fail before the pump be it briggs, kohler or Honda. The Honda is the smoothest and quietist out of the three.

[Graham_A_M]

Originally posted by idriveabox
Graham, how hard is it to rebuild the pumps or is it even worth it? My BE Honda washer had the pump die, motor is fine. I think its worth investing in one with a better name brand pump (as mentioned)
I can take a look at it and see (PM me if you'd like), but like what NoPulp said, its dependent on whats wrong with it. The valving is common, so not at all hard to replace, but the piston parts of the pump make it so costly to replace, along with availability then its typically cheaper just to buy a replacement pump for it. Although, typically some catastrophic would have to go wrong to have anything internally go wrong with the pump. I really hope you drained it before winter (typically leave the engine off, then crank it over a few pulls to drain the water out of the actual pump internals)

With that 11hp unit we have, I know the pistons are functioning fine, but its recirculating the water over and over again, which I know to be a typical valve or valve adjustment issue.

[Maxx Mazda]

I bought a 3200psi Simoniz (Chinese) at Canadian Tire a few years back. Was on sale for $299 from $899 so figured might as well. The ratchet for the pull start fucked up a few times but I just took it off and fixed it each time. Ended up selling it after two years for $400! Also this thing was LOUD. I mean I had to wear my iPod when using it or I'd go deaf. Felt bad for my neighbours haha!

Since then I have a John Deere 3300psi from Lowe's. Think it was $589. So far haven't had a single problem. I'm not sure who actually makes it, or if it's legit John Deere.

[idriveabox]

Originally posted by Graham_A_M

I can take a look at it and see (PM me if you'd like), but like what NoPulp said, its dependent on whats wrong with it. The valving is common, so not at all hard to replace, but the piston parts of the pump make it so costly to replace, along with availability then its typically cheaper just to buy a replacement pump for it. Although, typically some catastrophic would have to go wrong to have anything internally go wrong with the pump. I really hope you drained it before winter (typically leave the engine off, then crank it over a few pulls to drain the water out of the actual pump internals)

With that 11hp unit we have, I know the pistons are functioning fine, but its recirculating the water over and over again, which I know to be a typical valve or valve adjustment issue.

Thanks for the offer, but I think its done. My BIL didn't look after it and I suspect it wasn't drained and left to sit. Worked when I got it a few times and then kaput. Ah well, it was a freebie. Shame to waste the motor though.

[The_Penguin]

Originally posted by Graham_A_M

I really hope you drained it before winter (typically leave the engine off, then crank it over a few pulls to drain the water out of the actual pump internals)



I do that, plus have it suck in some Karcher pump conditioner/anti-freeze. Overkill or a good idea?

[Graham_A_M]

^ that works but not needed really. Ive never used antifreeze at all, and have yet to ruin a pump by freezing.



Originally posted by idriveabox


Thanks for the offer, but I think its done. My BIL didn't look after it and I suspect it wasn't drained and left to sit. Worked when I got it a few times and then kaput. Ah well, it was a freebie. Shame to waste the motor though.
You sure its done? could be quite a simple fix.
Id be more then happy to buy the motor off of you if you have no use for it. If its a vertical shaft, I can use it on one of our lawnmower's or other uses, if its horizontal, I can use it for a hydraulic power pack since I have about 100 hydraulic pumps that I need an engine to power them with. (probably use about 4-6 of them per engine as their pretty low GPM capacity).

[jwslam]

Anyone wanna lend me theirs for sunday? Or rent it to me for a case of beer?
Not currently looking to invest in my own yet. My little electric one is taking forever to paint strip my fence.

[StreetRacerX]

I'm in the market for a pressure washer, it will be used on a weekly basis at minimum for the vehicles I'm driving as well as cleaning the exterior of the house etc.

The only issue is that I've been given a $250 budget which means I'm buying used, so far I've seen a couple gas powered BE pressure washers with the 5-5.5HP Honda engine, no Karchers though, any recommendations if your buying used? Other than not buying used :D

[Tik-Tok]

The advice I got from a nearby small engine repair guy, is buy anything with brand name motor and don't worry about the pump right now, because the engine will long outlast the water pump, and when the pump goes, then you shell out the cash for a quality replacement.

[Seks]

Bought the Diamond one with Honda engine a few yrs ago for $300 from CT. Works well.

[StreetRacerX]

Went with the Homelite from Home Depot, used it 5 times and so far my only complaint is the shitty stiff hose that comes with it and it seems fairly loud, probably going to buy a longer higher quality hose, not all that worried about the noise as I use it during the day hours.

[G]

I picked up the Ryobi 2800 psi washer a couple weeks ago. Comes with a Honda engine and it was on sale for $380 at Home Depot.

[nzwasp]

If you cant use soap to wash your car on the driveway, wouldnt pressure washing your car still look dirty afterwards.

[Tik-Tok]

Px washers aren't only for cars. My garage floor and concrete patio have never been so clean.

[G]

Originally posted by nzwasp
If you cant use soap to wash your car on the driveway, wouldnt pressure washing your car still look dirty afterwards.

I pressure wash it on the driveway then soap snd rinse it in my garage .

[nzwasp]

How many people have drains in their garage that let them do that though?

[G]

Everyone in the BBC I believe.